Aalto University’s art & design ranked 8th in the world

Aalto University ranked 8th globally in art and design in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, published on 12 March 2025, maintaining its position from last year. 

‘Global competition in art and design is getting tougher every year. It’s great to see that we are still ranked among the best in the world. The credit for this achievement goes to our entire community!’ says Tuomas Auvinen, Dean of the School of Arts, Design and Architecture. 

The university also ranked in the top 50 globally in two other fields. In marketing, Aalto placed 44th (compared to 21^st–50^th last year), and in architecture and built environment, it shared 49th place (39^th last year). 

Aalto’s data science and artificial intelligence ranked 51^st–100^th (previously 41st), business and management studies shared 92^nd place (100^th), and mineral and mining engineering ranked 51^st–100^th (not ranked last year). 

The QS World University Rankings by Subject emphasize a university's reputation both in academia and among employers, while also considering research publications and citation numbers. The weight of these factors varies by subject. 

For this year’s rankings, the QS team analyzed the reputation and research output of over 5,200 institutions. From this group, 1,747 universities were ranked across 55 specific subjects and five broad subject areas. 

The QS World University Rankings also compare universities as a whole. In the most recent ranking, published last summer, Aalto was ranked 1st in Finland and 113th globally. 

Aalto University specializes in technology, business, and the arts, making field- and subject-specific rankings the most relevant. Depending on the criteria used, there are an estimated 17,000 to 22,000 universities worldwide. 

QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025

More information about arts & design at Aalto:
Tuomas Auvinen
Dean, Aalto University School of Art, Design and Architecture
+358 50 64848
dean-arts@aalto.fi